Blowers facing second degree murder charges

Charges have been filed in the Monday, Dec. 3, homicides of Wayne and Mable Wells in the Ivy Bend area of Morgan County. Ronald James Blowers, 25, was charged Friday morning with two counts of second degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of first degree burglary.According to a press release from...

Charges have been filed in the Monday, Dec. 3, homicides of Wayne and Mable Wells in the Ivy Bend area of Morgan County. Ronald James Blowers, 25, was charged Friday morning with two counts of second degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of first degree burglary.According to a press release from the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, evidence from the scene and information obtained from Blowers led to the charges being filed.While it was first believed that the victims had been killed from multiple gunshots from a small caliber firearm, the autopsy revealed that they died of blunt force trauma. It is believed that a pipe, knife and screwdriver were used to inflict the injuries, the press release stated.On Thursday, a pipe found near the scene is believed to be one of the weapons.The sheriff's office said the investigation is still ongoing.Blowers is currently being held in the Morgan County Adult Detention Center on a $1 million bond.Blowers was first arrested on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 4, after running from police when they went to question him around 5:30 p.m. about a pistol that had been stolen from his neighbor's home, located about a mile from the Wells' Ivy Bend residence.As officers approached Blowers, the probable cause statement for his arrest for the murders says that he "brandished a knife at officers while in his driveway and began stabbing himself repeatedly in the stomach."Blowers allegedly told officers, "I did not mean to do it," before running into the woods and leading police on a lengthy foot pursuit.During the incident, Blowers refused to drop the knife and continued to stab himself in the stomach and neck, according to the probable cause statement. "He spontaneously denied killing 'those' people," the probable cause statement says.Officers captured him and took him into custody, and he was initially taken to the hospital for treatment.In an interview Thursday morning at the Morgan County Sheriff's Office, Blowers admitted to being present at the Wells' home during the commission of the homicide and admitted to using a pipe, knife and screwdriver to inflict injuries on the victims, according to the probable cause statement.Blowers was also in a single-car accident Monday night around 6:15 p.m. on Ivy Bend Rd. at Hillview Rd. near the scene of the homicide. The Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to the crash and found Blowers to be the operator of the wrecked red Ford Explorer. According to the Highway Patrol arrest report, he was cited at 7:22 p.m. for Driving While Intoxicated and Careless & Imprudent Resulting in an Accident. He was transported to University Hospital in Columbia for treatment of moderate injuries.According to the probable cause statement for the murders, neighbors in the vicinity of the Wells' residence told police that they recalled seeing a sports utility vehicle matching the description of Blowers' vehicle speeding away from near the homicide scene.The murders of the Wells - Wayne, 82, and Mable, 71, - were reported to Morgan County dispatch on the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 4, after a friend went to check on them at their home at 34024 Oak Hill Rd., located off of Ivy Bend Rd. in the extreme southwest part of the county.The friend found Mable Wells face down in a pool of blood around 11:10 a.m. and called 911, according to police. Upon arrival, officers found the couple dead in separate rooms.The murders are believed to have occurred between dusk and 6 p.m. Dec. 3. The sheriff's office treated the crime as a burglary turned homicide from the first. At the Wells' residence, they found a door had been pushed or kicked in, and the home was in disarray.A footprint was also found at the scene, according to Petty.The Wells were fairly isolated this time of year being some of the few winter residents in the lakeside neighborhood.Ronald Blowers, 25, Stover, Mo.Criminal historyTwo state traffic tickets2/25/06- Unlawful use of drug paraphernalia 11/16/06- Pursuing/talking/killing/possessed or disposed of wildlife Illegally 11/16/06- Unlawful use of a weapon1/24/07-Burglary 2nd degree5/4/12- Possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana, fail to drive on the right half of the roadway when the roadway was sufficient width, unlawful use of drug paraphernalia Arrested on 12/3/12 at 7:22 p.m. on charges of DWI and C&I resulting in an accident